Hmm.....

Well, it was a few months ago now, but the windows were never fitted.

Rust was too bad, the original cutting was awful and didnt leave any good metal to bind together to put new windows in. Good thing this was discovered before the old ones were cut out!

There isnt a lot that can be done without a donor van and a lot of cash, so the van is pretty much going to be left as is now.

We will keep her serviced and running for as long as we can, but with the inevitability of the windows eventually rusting through, there isnt much point in doing much interior work now as it could get damp and wet in time.

The guys at MAD were great at explaining it all, and we are pretty much going to see her through told age now, and save for another one. AT lest she proved we love camping in a van!!

New Windows Baby!

Thanks to Charlies amazing credit card offers, I have just booked the van in at Mad-Workshop in Bristol at the end of this month to have 4 new windows fitted!

New ones are bigger than that last ones, and will need to have more of the panels (read: rust) cut out before fitting.
Should hopefully stop the rust spreading much further, and get rid of the naff tining in the rear quater panels.

Cant wait! Once the windows are sorted, can get moving on the curtains and rails.

New Indicators

Got my new indicator casings and bulbs today, took all of about 2 minutes to fit, I reckon they look pretty good.
No point really other than making a builders van slightly less stock.
Before:



And After:

"Your eBay item has been shipped"

Not writte on here for ages, mainly because I havn't done anything for ages!
On of the things that has been annoying me on the van is the horrible blocky orange indicators at the front.
I have been having a look around for some clear indicator replacements, and found some on eBay going cheap last night.
They even come with special bulbs that only flash orange when they are on, and look clear when they are not, so should look pretty smart when they are on.
Hopefully should get them tomorrow, so will post come pics then.
Never been so excited about indicators...

Van Electrics

Had a day in the van today (still no name...hmm....) sorting out the interior.

When we got the van, it came with an electric hookup kit, which is basically a round outdoor plug on one end, and a 3-way plug set on the other (this, basically).

It was a bit cumbersome, and was annoying me so I have effectively built it into the van now.

I have used a junction box and some decent cabling and a plug to connect the hookup to some lovely dark plug sockets, which I have mounted at various points in the van. Just makes power a bit more accessible really.

The round end of the hookup comes out under the van and sits nicely in the bumper, where it can be pulled out and connected to the campsite power point.

Not quite finished, still need to do the other socket double socket, but need more screws from B&Q tomorrow.

Shiny things

Ok, finally got round to fitting the shiny new radiator grille badge tonight, looks lovely!
Just need one for the back now...


- Paul (iPhone)

First Weekend Away

We went to Brean Sands a couple of weeks ago, staying at Warren Farm touring park.

Had a fantastic weekend, the van did the whole round trip without missing a beat, and was very comfortable sleeping in on the night time (warm too, with 2 people in such a small space!).

Cooker and grill worked fine, though we didn't test the fridge (wasn't sure how much gas was left in the bottle), and the sausage buns on the morning were very tasty!

Brean sands was beautiful, and was good to meet up with some of the old SWATK kiting group who happened to be out at the same time.

Some of the pics are here on the flickr site

New Seating Ready!

Picked up the new seating/bed cushions today, and we are very impressed!

Danny at H M Foam in Calne did a fantastic job, we will definitely be going back if we need anything else doing.

Pic above is of the seat in the tailgate of the van. We can sit here and watch the world go by!

Other pics of the van with the cushions laid out are in my flickr album

Fabric Chosen

Just a quick update from yesterday, got the foam and material chosen, went for a much more simple red covering.
Much cheaper than some of the other patterns we were looking at.
And it will make a nice colorful statent in the van too.
Will get some photos up when we pick it up, hopefully next week.
Got to say the guy we dealt with was very very friendly and helpful, would recommend him for anything really (he will trim everything from cushions to entire classic car interiors!)


- Paul (iPhone)

New Seat Cushions/Bed Foam

After binning the old foam on the seats the other day as it was a bit mouldy and smelt of cigarettes, we have founda ver nice supplier in Calne, of all places, who has been very friendly over email and can set us up with new foam, and even upholster it for us.

Been looking at some of the fabrics on his supplier's website, and are trying to have an idea before we go to the shop.

So, current options are:

• Latino Spots
• Glamour
• Rococo (maybe not)
• Stratford

Quite like some of the big print stuff, but we will see what it's like when we get there...
Opinions anyone?

Cleaning Day

Got some time with Charlie this afternoon to clean the outside of the van. Takes a hell of a lot longer than cleaning my little peugeot.

To be honest though, most of those 3 hours were loosening the dirt in the cracks and the crevices. Not to mention the roof... I swear there was a garden growing there before I started (Charlie just wasn't tall enough).

Anyway, it's looking a lot better all round right now, Charlie did a wicked job of cleaning the door seals and door insides, and it's starting to look a lot whiter, rather than the slightly grubby grey it was earlier. Think this might be the hardest i've worked on a Sunday for a long time!

Oh yeah, pics of Charlie working hard are here

Also started ordering a few bits and bobs form the internet this weekend, new cab carpet, new radiator grille badge, tax disk holder. Also been pricing up leisure batteries and split charger kits, but that might need to wait until next month.

Jobs List

Just making myself a job list..
In no particular order:

All over clean, outside and in - Done!
Windows replacing
Sunroof sealing - Done !
Leisure battery and split charge system
Electric hookup adding to leisure battery & electrics for plug sockets
Fix fuel gauge
Change cd changer location
New foam for bedding and seats - Done!
Material for covering foam - Done!
New curtains
Respray to something not White?! - depends on cost..
Interior layout? Maybe long term ...


- Paul (iPhone)

The Inside...

Got round to taking a few shots of the inside tonight, whilst contemplating just how smurf blue we would turn if we went camping next weekend.

"Very" was the answer I came up with. The ice on the windscreen gave it away a bit.

Here is one picture of the van cab, with funky rotating chairs. (No, Charlie does not sit facing the wrong way for the whole journey..)

My Flickr account has a new set of photos of the rest of the interior.

I reckon with the new foam on the seats in the back of the van, and some new curtains, we could definitely get through the summer without having to do much on the inside, work out what works and what doesn't, and then go from there. So many plans, so little time...

Picked the van up a couple of hours ago, thats was fun. Walking round Calne in the dark is never great, especially with cash in your bag.

Everything went OK though, I have MoT certificates, receipts, etc.

The best bit? Realising you have absolutely no idea how to turn the headlights on. I'm not sure I didn't drive home with full beams on!

So the rest of the week, or the weekend is going to be cleaning and tidying, all the fun stuff, and adding on the classic camper air freshener Laura and mark bought us a while ago. Thanks!

Anyway, there's another 5 photos of the outside of the van in my Flickr album here.

Any name suggestions?!

Tonight's the night

Everything is sorted for collection tonight, quite excited now!
Time to dig out the febreeze and the hoover, and see what we can make out of it...will post photos tonight if the light isn't too bad.



- Paul

And so it begins...

Funny thing happened this weekend...

Anyone who knows me knows I have wanted a classic VW camper for a while now. You may have seen a few magazines around the house. So browsing through eBay (as you do), Charlie found a not-exactly-classic T4 for a very cheap price. Right here in Calne too!

Anyway, test drives happened, tyres were kicked and father in laws were drafted in to poke rusty patches, money was taken from a number of bank accounts and we now hold a V5.

Since I would describe this as a bit of a project, a bit of a fixer-up opportunity, I thought I would start a blog to keep track of everything we do to it. Seems to be the way these days.

Anyway, photos pending (picking the van up this week), this could be the start of something wonderful. Or very expensive. Either way, let's see what happens...